Obama's Super Bowl Ad: ‘Join’  —  WILMINGTON, Del. - While Senator Barack Obama watches the Super Bowl tonight at home in Chicago, television viewers in 24 states will be able to watch him.  —  A week ago, Mr. Obama's campaign decided to purchase TV advertising in local markets for the Super Bowl.

In Democratic Families, Politics Makes for Estranged Bedfellows  —  Maria Shriver woke up Sunday morning and decided to surprise the audience at a rally for Barack Obama in Los Angeles, materializing alongside Oprah Winfrey and telling the crowd she was throwing her support behind Senator Obama …

Boasting in Boston  —  I am so confident of both a Patriots win today and a Romney win in Massachusetts on Tuesday that I made this pledge on the air Friday: “If the NY Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, I will vote cast my Super Duper Tuesday primary vote for (shudder) John McCain.”

Dyspepsia on the Right  —  The prospect of John McCain as the likely Republican presidential nominee has produced a squall of anger on the right.  Normally reserved columnists and usually ebullient talk-radio hosts vie to express their disgust with McCain, and their disdain for the Republicans who are about to nominate him.

The ‘I Hate Romney’ Club  —  Last summer, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani took time out of a GOP debate to defend John McCain: “I happen to be a very big admirer of Senator McCain and I can tell you quite honestly that if I weren't running for President I would be here supporting him.”

Private equity firms unlikely to rescue Ambac and MBIA  —  Leading private equity firms are unlikely to participate in any recapitalisation of Ambac and MBIA, increasing the pressure on banks to come up with a rescue package for the troubled US bond insurers.

Quarter of Brits think Churchill was myth: poll  —  LONDON (AFP) - Britons are losing their grip on reality, according to a poll out Monday which showed that nearly a quarter think Winston Churchill was a myth while the majority reckon Sherlock Holmes was real.

Clinton, Obama, Insurance  —  The principal policy division between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama involves health care.  It's a division that can seem technical and obscure — and I've read many assertions that only the most wonkish care about the fine print of their proposals.

HUD Chief Accused of Retaliation  —  Philadelphia Officials Sue After Land Dispute  —  Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson demanded that the Philadelphia Housing Authority transfer a $2 million public property to a developer at a substantial discount, then retaliated against the housing authority …

john mccain: the list of infamy  —  Every time I post something about the problem for liberty-minded conservatives with the direction the Republican Party has been taking since the first George Bush administration, I get a lot of pushback that can generally be divided into two types.

The Latest on Gore  —  According to a source close to Al Gore, multiple people in the former VP's orbit are in touch with him on a regular basis to urge an Obama endorsement.  According to this source, Gore's hesitation is three-fold:  —  1.)  The memory of the ill-fated Dean endorsement looms large for him.

Unbelievable and Assaultive Strip Search on an Innocent Woman  —  Raw Story: (h/t Existentialist Cowboy)